Southwest Airlines Captain Surprises One Millionth Passenger With Champagne, Pays for Her Ticket

A Southwest Airlines captain rewarded his one millionth passenger this month on a flight from Denver to Pittsburgh.

Captain John Ritchie, who has been working for the airline for 21 years, told InsideEdition.com that he has been counting the number of passengers on his aircrafts since he first started working for the airline.

Ritchie found out the price of the woman’s ticket beforehand and handed her an envelope with that amount of cash inside, along with a bottle of champagne to commemorate the moment.

“I really didn’t think I’d reached that [many passengers]. You just never know how long your career is going to be. I have been very fortunate to be alive for 21-plus years. It was something I was looking forward to doing for a long time," Ritchie said.